Thanks all. > the function you pass it to assigns some other value to the variable, > that's all it's doing: reassigning a local name to point to somewhere > else in memory.
So, just to make sure even if I return a value, there is no copy done. Is it correct? For eg: def blah: long_str="...." return long_str my_str=blah() <=== So here there is no copy done but, my_str points to the same memory where long_str was created. Thanks again. On May 10, 2:57 pm, Adam Atlas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On May 10, 5:47 pm, Adam Atlas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On May 10, 5:43 pm, lazy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I want to pass a string by reference. > > > Don't worry, all function parameters in Python are passed by reference. > > Actually, just to clarify a little bit if you're understanding "pass > by reference" in the sense used in PHP, sort of C, etc.: In Python, > you have objects and names. When I say all function parameters are > passed by reference, I don't mean you're actually passing a reference > to the *variable*. (Like in PHP where you pass a variable like &$foo > and the function can change that variable's value in the caller's > scope.) You can never pass a reference to a variable in Python. But on > the other hand, passing a parameter never causes the value to be > copied. Basically, you have a variable that's a reference to an object > somewhere in memory, and passing it to a function gives that > function's scope a new pointer to that same location in memory. So if > the function you pass it to assigns some other value to the variable, > that's all it's doing: reassigning a local name to point to somewhere > else in memory. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
